That is something on which we want to work. According to the Senator, Ireland is a low-pay economy. That is not true or reflective. I accept that approximately 7% or 8% are on the minimum wage.

We are committed to moving to a living wage, as are some of the Senator's colleagues. A move towards a living wage is provided for in the programme for Government. That will be a positive journey but, again, it is a cost that will affect the creation and protection of jobs. We have to get that balance right, too. It is important to recognise that, in the context of the minimum wage and a commitment to a living wage, we are in a good place in Ireland. We need to focus on reducing the cost of living but that is not j…

I did acknowledge the example put forward by the Senator in respect of his son. We have had plenty of discussion on this in both Houses. I ask him to acknowledge that the Government is bringing in a new statutory sick pay scheme. Today, a worker who is sick may not get payment. People go to a doctor for more than one reason. They do not just go there to get a medical certificate; they often go because they are sick and need to see a doctor. The Senator should bear that in mind. Even under the existing illness benef…

I remind the Senator that what we are starting here is a payment for three days. It kicks in after that. It will move to ten days in the next couple of years, as committed to by my party and the other parties in government. I am not sure what Sinn Féin would do. It has a very different view when it comes to creating and sustaining jobs. I will not go into that today. The Government is clear that there is a commitment to go to ten days. The Senator is taking a one-day view of this, which is not a fair analysis of th…

I hope the Senator’s son is better. I hope he is not still sick. To be very clear on this - there is no sick pay legislation in place at the moment. There is no statutory sick pay scheme. I ask the Senator to perhaps acknowledge that we are improving the situation. It is not the case that there is no financial gain and there is only a loss on the first day. That is not true.

The Senator quoted the prices charged by GPs. The cost involved in attending a GP or obtaining a medical certificate differs throughout the country. I do not agree with the Senator at all that somebody is at a loss on the first day. That is his assertion, and it is reflected in the figures he is putting forward. New employment legislation has been brought forward, which is a positive development, and it strengthens the hands of employers in respect of the talent war, but it also comes at a cost to them. There is ab…

In case there is any doubt, the point made by Senator Burke is that this legislation is beginning of a statutory sick pay scheme. It is not and cannot be about access to or the cost of health services. That is a separate discussion. We both agree that there is improvement needed in respect of access and the cost of health services, but that is completely separate from the debate on this legislation. This is the statutory sick pay scheme that is putting a cost on employers who create jobs and want to protect jobs. W…

I will try to cover most of the points raised. I had a note on some of the points made earlier but, for the life of me, I cannot find it, so if I do not answer some of the Senators' points, I ask them to throw them back at me and I will try to come back on them. I do not know where I put my note. Before turning to the amendments, an issue was made earlier of amendments not being accepted by the Government. I wish to be absolutely clear that the Government does not decide which amendments are appropriate and which a…

The Senator can check the record and I stand to be corrected.

The group of amendments relate to the insertion of a new section in the Bill. Amendment No. 1 means that the Minister will be defined for the purpose of the Bill as the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It is required because of the new provisions we are inserting requiring a review of the Bill once it is enacted and in force for more than a year. The new section 9 provides a review clause for the Bill. It will be reviewed after one year in operation when employers, employees and customers will have an…

In regard to the new section under 4D it provides that if an employer describes a mandatory charge as a "service charge" or a similar term in a tips and gratuities notice or, for example, on a restaurant menu, the employer must treat the charge as if it was a tip or gratuity received by electronic mode of payment. That means that the service charge must be distributed to staff in a fair and reasonable way. This does not restrict a business from imposing charges which form part of that business's normal revenues. It…

When is the Senator going to start paying?

I acknowledge the history of the Bill. I was certainly not rewriting Sinn Féin's Private Member's Bill. To be clear, I do not think it was opposed on the grounds of money. I think there were some technical difficulties at the time in 2017 or 2018. In Senator Doherty's absence, I wish to mention that when she was the Minister with responsibility for social protection, she brought forward a Bill to replace and add to the Sinn Féin Bill. A lot of work was done on that on Committee Stage and in pre-legislative scrutiny…

I appreciate that is a bit of a mouthful, but we will try to deal with as much as we possibly can. Amendment No. 3 proposes that “mandatory service charge” be renamed “mandatory charge”. This reflects our decision to refine our approach to service charges and transparency. Again, the Tánaiste committed reviewing this since the Second Stage debate here in February. The definition will remain the same, but our view is that, in fact, the charges concerned do not have a clear and direct link with the service provided b…

The new section 4B contained in the Payment of Wages (Tips and Gratuities) Bill 2022 requires employers to distribute fairly and in a transparent manner tips that are received in electronic form, that is, through debit or credit cards. It also provides that employers may not retain any share of tips or gratuities received by the employer electronically, unless such retention is required or permitted by law. Employers who regularly do the same kind of work as their employees may also retain a fair and reasonable sha…

I will try to deal with this as best I can. Senators are keen to extend the Bill to cover all cash tips and gratuities. I understand this. We would all like to do this but it is exactly as Senator Casey has said. It is about what is possible to trace and manage in law. With respect, I cannot disregard what the Workplace Relations Commission recommends to us. It is the body that will be charged with policing the legislation we introduce. I assume we want legislation that is workable and enforceable. We are all on th…

Senator Buttimer need not worry. I am only slagging. I am the same. I see it in practice. Many people pay their bill electronically and then pay the tip in cash separately. The issue we would have, exactly, as Senator Casey said, is how the Workplace Relations Commission would trace the case. This legislation has to be workable and enforceable if we are to achieve what we want to achieve. We should recognise that most payments are being made electronically and fewer and fewer people are using cash on a regular basi…

I am sorry if I appear mean to the Senator but the WRC said it would be unenforceable.

I am trying not to be. I was being generous earlier on.

If the Senator has some magic formula, I am happy to look at it when the Bill comes before the Dáil. There is no doubt about that. Of course, we all would like to achieve that. I must be black and white on this. If the WRC tells me something is unenforceable, I have to accept it. It is the body we will be asking to police this. We want this policed. I am assuming we are here bringing legislation that we think will be policed and enforced and I have to work with the WRC on that. By all means, when the Bill comes bef…